Parallel-ruler.



C. M. PIDGEON. PARALLEL HULER.' APPLICATION FILED 05930'. |916'. amm/EDMN. 22. 1918.

Patented Aug. 27, 1918.

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CHARLES M. PIDGEON, OF WASHINGTON,'DISTRICT 0F COLUMBIA.

PARALLEL-RULER.

Patented Ano'. 27, 1918.

Application filed December 30, 1916, Serial No. 139,736. Renewed January22, 1918. Serial No. 213,268.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES M. PIDGEON, acitizen of the United States, residing at lVasliington, in the Districtof Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inParallel-Rulers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame. Y

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in parallel rulersand my ob?- ject is to provide rollers for the support of the ruler andso position the same that the ruler may be readily moved from point topoint and supported by said rollers.

A further object is to provide means for manually rotating said rollersfor moving the ruler from place to place.

A further object is to provide means for locking the said rollersagainst rotating movement.

A further object is to provide means for disconnecting the rotatingmechanism from the rollers.

And a further object is to provide means for successively obtainingminute adjustment of the ruler.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter set forth and moreparticularly pointed out in the accompanying specification.

In the accompanying drawings which are made a part of this application,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of, a ruler showing my improved deviceattached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view thereof.

Fig. 3 is anenlarged transverse sectional view through the ruler, andmeans for adjusting the same showing one position of the parts thereofin dotted lines.

Fig. 4- is a fragmentary sectional view as seen on line H of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation ofia graduated dial for regulating themovement of the ruler.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of a spring employed for controlling the positionof a worm shaft carrying block, and

Fig. 7 is an elevation of the worm shaft carrying block.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 indicates a ruler ofthe usual, or any preferred construction, employed for ruling parallellines upon a surface, and 2 indicates` rollers which extend throughslots 3 inthe ruler and support the ruler a slight distance above thesurface over which the same is traveling.

Therollers 2 are connected together by means of a shaft l which causessaid rollers to rotate in unison, the outer ends of said rollers beingsupported upon dowels 5 extended through ears G projecting upwardly fromthe ruler, said dowels beingpreferably yadjustable to compensate for anywear. The shaft l projects through a housing 7 mounted upon the ruler 1,and in order to regulate the rotation of the rollers 2, a gear 8 isfixed to said shaft, preferably at its longitudinal center, andcoperating with said gearB is a worm shaft 9 which extends transverselythrough the housing, and when rotated, will impart rotation to therollers through the medium of said gear.

One end of the worm shaft 9 is entered in a seat '10 of a block 11, saidblock being in turn positioned in an extension 12 of the housing 7,while adjacent the opposite end of said worm shaft is a conical bearing13 which enters a conical seat 14: of a bearing block 15, said bearingblock being pivotally mounted in an extension 16 of the housing 7 bymeans of set screws 17.

vThe end of the worm shaft 9 projecting vbeyond the bearing block 15islprovided with a dial 18 by means of which rotation may be imparted tothe worm shaft 9, the

' outer face of the dial having graduations 19 thereon which cooperatewith a finger 20 projecting outwardly from one face of the housing 7,and by providing said graduations, the ruler may be successively movedlaterally over a surface and at a uniform distance, by noting theposition' of the graduations on the dial with respect to said finger.

In order to move the worm shaft out of engagement with the gear 8, sothat the rollers may yfreely rotate, the block 11 is slidably mounted inthe extension 12, so that by moving the block 11 to the upper end of theextension 12, the worm shaft 9 will be disengaged from the gear 8, andin order to positively hold the block in its raised or lowered position,a spring plate 21 is positiene@ Within the extension l2 and forms CJDCII

the inner wall thereof, the upper end of the plate being att-ached tothe housing 7 in any preferred manner, as by means of a screw or rivet22. Extending vertically of the plate 2l and centrally thereof is anelongated slot 23 through which the shaft 9 extends. said plate havingbowed portions 24 at its longitudinal center which are engaged by a rib25 on the block ll, and it will be readily seen that whe the bloclr isin its lowered position, the bowed portion 2li will extend over the rib25 and hold the bloclr and worm shaft in a lowered position, andlikewise the bowed portion will project below the rib when the block iselevated, thereby holding the bloei; and shaft in their elevatedposition.

ln order to lock the worm shaft against casual endwise movement androtation and at the same time bind the bloclr 1l against the outer wallof the extension l2, to assist in holding the bloclr in its raised orlowered position, a thumb screw 26 is entered through a slot 27 in theouter wall of the extension l2 and is threaded through an opening 28 inthe block 1l and enters the scat l0, so that the end of the thumb screwwill bear against the end of the worm shaft 9, when the thumb screw isturned inwardly, thereby forcing the block l1 against the outer face ofthe extension l2 and holding the worm shaft 9 sufficiently rigid toprevent casual rotation of the gear 8 and parts to which it attached.

ln applying this device to use, the thumb screw 26 is turned outwardlysufficient to release the shaft .1, and one edge of the ruler placedapproximately at the point where it is desired to 'rule a line.y whenthe dial 18 is rotated to bring the edge of the ruler accurately to thepoint where the line is to be drawn. After one line is drawn, the dial1S is rotated and the ruler moved away from the line just drawn to theposition for drawing the next succeeding line, and by noting thegraduations on the face of the dial, the edge of the ruler may bebrought to the exact position for drawing the next and succeeding linesthe proper distance from the preceding line, and if desired, in order tohold the ruler perfectly rigid while each line is being made, the thumbscrew may be operated to bind against the worm shaft as soon as theruler has been properly adjusted and again released when the ruler is tobe moved.

By controlling the rotation of the krollers :usf/sees 2 in the mannerdescribed, not only minute and positive adjustment of the ruler may beobtained, but by locking the worm shaft against casual rotation, theruler will be prevented from rolling 01T of an inclined surface orleaving the position where last used, thus retaining the ruler at alltimes in proper position to be spaced from the lastline until all of thelines have beenkmade.

It will likewise be seen that this device can be cheaply constructed andthat the same will last indefinitely and may be quickly manipulated tospace the ruler over the surface of the object upon which the lines areto be drawn.

What claim is l. n a device of the class described, the combination witha ruler, rollers mounted upon the ruler and extending therethrough,`

and a shaft connecting said rollers, of a gear fixed to said shaft, aworm shaft extending over and cooperating with said gear, means tomanually rotate said worm shaft, and means to move the worm shaft intoand out of engagement with said gear.

2. ln a device of the class described, the combination with a ruler, apair of rollers mounted upon said ruler and extending therethrough, anda shaft connecting said rollers, of a gear fixed to said shaft, a wormshaft extending transversely 0f the first shaft and cooperating withsaid gear, means for manually rotating said worm shaft, means to movesaid worm shaft into or out .of engagement with said gear, and means tolock the worm shaft against casual rotation.

3. ln a device of the class described, the combination with a ruler,rollers mounted upon said ruler, and a shaft connecting said rollers, ofa gear fixed to said shaft, a housing surrounding said shaft, a wormshaft extending' transversely through the housing, means to pivotallyand rotatably mount one end of said worm Shaft in the housing, a Y

block having a seat to receive the opposite end of said worm shaft, saidblockV ybeing movably mounted in said housing, means to hold said blockin its raised or lowered position, and means to lock said worm shaftagainst casual rotation.

ln testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of a subscribing witness.

CHARLES M. PIDGEON.

Witness C. A, Nin-inn.

epics of may be obtained for i'ive cents each, by addressing theomniissener ef Eatents,

Washington, Iii. t5.

